Quantopian's community platform is shutting down. Please read this post for more information and download your code.
Back to Community
Does order_target(sid, 0) close a short position?

I mean it makes sense, but I'm not sure if it's happening.

I'd also like to add; if I haven't been closing my short positions in my algorithm, should I believe that my algorithm's results are considerably misleading?

1 response

Yup. order_target and order_target_percent when set to 0 will place an order to close the given position, long or short. There are exceptions e.g. open orders, where the position may not be closed immediately. Also make sure you are not backtesting in daily mode if it seems like orders are filling oddly.

Disclaimer

The material on this website is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy, or a recommendation or endorsement for any security or strategy, nor does it constitute an offer to provide investment advisory services by Quantopian. In addition, the material offers no opinion with respect to the suitability of any security or specific investment. No information contained herein should be regarded as a suggestion to engage in or refrain from any investment-related course of action as none of Quantopian nor any of its affiliates is undertaking to provide investment advice, act as an adviser to any plan or entity subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity, or give advice in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the materials presented herein. If you are an individual retirement or other investor, contact your financial advisor or other fiduciary unrelated to Quantopian about whether any given investment idea, strategy, product or service described herein may be appropriate for your circumstances. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Quantopian makes no guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of the views expressed in the website. The views are subject to change, and may have become unreliable for various reasons, including changes in market conditions or economic circumstances.